U.S. patent application number 15/185468 was filed with the patent office on 2016-10-06 for integrated circuit test temperature control mechanism.
The applicant listed for this patent is INTEL CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Abram M. Detofsky, John C. Johnson, James G. MAVEETY, James E. Neeb.
Application Number | 20160291083 15/185468 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50186654 |
Filed Date | 2016-10-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160291083 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Johnson; John C. ; et
al. |
October 6, 2016 |
INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TEST TEMPERATURE CONTROL MECHANISM
Abstract
A thermal controller includes a thermal control interface to
receive test data from an automated test equipment (ATE) system and
dynamically adjust a target setpoint temperature based on the data
and a dynamic thermal controller to receive the target setpoint
temperature from the thermal control interface and control a
thermal actuator based on the target setpoint temperature.
Inventors: |
Johnson; John C.; (Phoenix,
AZ) ; MAVEETY; James G.; (Campbell, CA) ;
Detofsky; Abram M.; (Tigard, OR) ; Neeb; James
E.; (Gilbert, AZ) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
INTEL CORPORATION |
SANTA CLARA |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50186654 |
Appl. No.: |
15/185468 |
Filed: |
June 17, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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13600486 |
Aug 31, 2012 |
9400291 |
|
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15185468 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01R 31/2891 20130101;
G01R 1/44 20130101; H05K 7/20 20130101; G01R 31/2874 20130101; G01R
1/0458 20130101; G01R 31/2642 20130101; G01R 1/06722 20130101; G01R
31/2875 20130101; G01R 1/06783 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G01R 31/28 20060101
G01R031/28 |
Claims
1.-18. (canceled)
19. A test system comprising: an integrated circuit (IC) device; a
thermal actuator coupled to the IC device to change a temperature
of the IC device during testing; an automated test equipment (ATE)
system coupled to the IC device, including a thermal control
interface coupled to dynamically adjust a target setpoint
temperature for testing the IC device; and a thermal controller, to
control the temperature of the IC device during testing, the
thermal controller including a dynamic thermal controller coupled
to the thermal control interface and the thermal actuator to
receive the target setpoint temperature from the thermal control
interface and control the thermal actuator based on the target
setpoint temperature.
20. The test system of claim 19 further comprising a digital
interface coupled between the thermal control interface and the
dynamic thermal controller.
21. The test system of claim 19 wherein the dynamic thermal
controller receives the target setpoint temperature from the
dynamic thermal controller via the digital interface as part of a
real time data stream.
22. The test system of claim 19 wherein the dynamic thermal
controller comprises a temperature control loop module to control
the thermal actuator.
23. The test system of claim 19 wherein the thermal control
interface receives feedback from the thermal actuator and transmits
the target setpoint temperature to the temperature control loop
module.
24. The test system of claim 19 wherein the dynamic thermal
controller further comprises a control and mode select module to
enable selection of a mode of operation.
25. A method comprising: changing, by a thermal actuator,
temperature of an integrated circuit (IC) device during testing,
wherein the thermal actuator is coupled to the IC device;
dynamically adjusting, by a thermal control interface of an
automated test equipment (ATE) system, a target setpoint
temperature for testing the IC device, wherein the ATE system is
coupled to the IC device; controlling, by a thermal controller, the
temperature of the IC device during testing, the thermal controller
including a dynamic thermal controller coupled to the thermal
control interface and the thermal actuator to receive the target
setpoint temperature from the thermal control interface and control
the thermal actuator based on the target setpoint temperature.
26. The method of claim 25 further comprising coupling a digital
interface between the thermal control interface and the dynamic
thermal controller.
27. The method of claim 25 wherein the target setpoint temperature
is received by the dynamic thermal controller from the dynamic
thermal controller via the digital interface as part of a real time
data stream.
28. The method of claim 25 wherein the dynamic thermal controller
comprises a temperature control loop module to control the thermal
actuator.
29. The method of claim 25 further comprising receiving, by the
thermal control interface, feedback from the thermal actuator and
transmitting, by the thermal control interface, the target setpoint
temperature to the temperature control loop module.
30. The method of claim 25 wherein the dynamic thermal controller
further comprises a control and mode select module to enable
selection of a mode of operation.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to integrated
circuits, and more particularly, to testing integrated
circuits.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Integrated circuits (ICs) are designed to operate under a
variety of environmental conditions. For example, ICs are designed
to operate over a range of temperatures. To ensure that an IC
operates correctly over a particular range of temperatures, the IC
is coupled to a test unit for testing at different temperatures
within the particular range. The test unit typically includes a
thermal unit that facilitates thermal heating/cooling and control
for testing.
[0003] Current thermal systems that control device temperature
during testing implement a traditional approach by attempting to
control to a fixed temperature setpoint. However, modern complex IC
devices have diverse thermal management requirements during
testing. Such requirements include an accurate, stable, fixed
temperature with near isothermal conditions calibrating the
device's built in temperature sensors, a rapidly responding
temperature control to minimize device temperature changes while
device power is changing dynamically during a test, and different
target test temperatures depending on the product's inherent
performance and targeted application. The change in target
temperature is on a device by device basis and actually changes as
the device test flow is progressing.
[0004] Additionally, there may be a need to change test temperature
on an IC while the device is in a test socket in order to
accommodate new test applications. For example, during hot testing,
test data may indicate the need for the device to also be tested at
a cold test temperature to adequately screen for possible defect
types. A device test socket may include stress screening at
temperatures that are elevated relative to the testing
temperature.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional test system.
[0006] FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate embodiments of a test system.
[0007] FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a test system.
[0008] FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a computer system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] In the following description, numerous specific details are
set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various
embodiments. However, various embodiments of the invention may be
practiced without the specific details. In other instances,
well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not
been described in detail so as not to obscure the particular
embodiments of the invention.
[0010] Reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an
embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or
characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be
included in at least an implementation. The appearances of the
phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification
may or may not be all referring to the same embodiment.
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional test system 100. System
100 includes an automated test equipment (ATE) system 110
implemented to perform thermal testing on a device under test (DUT)
130. DUT 130 may be an IC die on a wafer, or a packaged part. In
one embodiment, ATE system 110 is coupled to DUT 130 via a device
interface 120 and test contactor.
[0012] System 100 also includes a thermal actuator 140 having a
conduction surface 142. Thermal actuator 140 is used to physically
heat or cool the temperature of DUT 130 during testing. A thermal
controller 150 is electrically coupled to actuator 140 to control
the temperature of DUT 130 via actuator 140. Thus, thermal
controller 150 transmits heating and cooling control signals to
actuator 140 in order to maintain DUT 130 at a fixed setpoint
temperature based on feedback temperature of conduction surface 142
received from actuator 140.
[0013] As discussed above, there are limitations to systems like
test system 100, which attempt to control to a fixed temperature
setpoint. Thus, according to one embodiment, a test system is
disclosed that provides dynamic control inputs as well as the
traditional test features. FIG. 2A illustrates one embodiment of a
test system 200. As shown in FIG. 2A, test system 200 includes
similar features to system 100 discussed above. However in this
embodiment, a thermal controller 250 is coupled to thermal actuator
140 for thermal management of DUT 130.
[0014] Thermal controller 250 includes a thermal control interface
(TCI) 252 and a dynamic thermal controller (DTC) 255. In one
embodiment, TCI 252 is electrically coupled to ATE system 110 to
translate inputs from the ATE system 110 in order to dynamically
adjust a target temperature setpoint based on various test related
conditions and test program commands.
[0015] In one embodiment, DTC 255 controls thermal actuator 140
using a fast response control loop that accepts a streaming dynamic
temperature setpoint value from the TCI 252. In such an embodiment,
TCI 252 receives the feedback temperature from actuator 140 and
transmits streaming temperature setpoint data to a temperature
control loop module 257 within DTC 255 via a digital interface.
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a control loop
performed by DTC 255, in which a traditional
proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control methodology is used.
For fast control response, DTC 255 may operate at a rate that is
much faster than the time constant of the actuator 140 temperature
response and also faster than the temperature streaming update
rate.
[0017] DTC 255 also includes a control and mode select module
coupled to the digital interface to select a mode of operation
(e.g., traditional static or dynamic mode) for DTC 255. In one
embodiment, the interface is implemented with a simple protocol
two-wire interface such as the Inter-Integrated Circuit (I.sup.2C)
interface.
[0018] However other interfaces (e.g., SPI, RS-422, etc.) may be
implemented in other embodiments. In such an embodiment, a flexible
digital communications protocol using simple commands (defined
headers in the case of a serial protocol) is implemented for
command/control and temperature streaming busses. FIG. 2B
illustrates another embodiment of a test system 200 in which TCI
252 is included within ATE system 110, rather than thermal
controller 250.
[0019] In both embodiments DTC 255 is responsible for controlling
to the setpoint temperature and maintaining control of actuator
140. Additionally, DTC 255 is responsible for avoiding any
conditions that might damage actuator 140 or the control
system.
[0020] The above-described mechanism provides independent modular
control components that enable matching various thermal control
solutions with various ATE test applications by providing
temperature in a streaming protocol. Moreover, the mechanism avoids
complicated schemes to align and calibrate scaled analog signals
between systems.
[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a computer system 400.
The computer system 400 (also referred to as the electronic system
400) as depicted can embody a test system that includes a thermal
controller having a thermal control interface to receive test data
from an automated test equipment (ATE) system and dynamically
adjust a target setpoint temperature based on the data and a
dynamic thermal controller to receive the target setpoint
temperature from the thermal control interface and control a
thermal actuator based on the target setpoint temperature.
[0022] The computer system 400 may be a mobile device such as a
netbook computer. The computer system 400 may be a mobile device
such as a wireless smart phone. The computer system 400 may be a
desktop computer. The computer system 400 may be a hand-held
reader. The computer system 400 may be a server system. The
computer system 400 may be a supercomputer or high-performance
computing system.
[0023] In an embodiment, the electronic system 400 is a computer
system that includes a system bus 420 to electrically couple the
various components of the electronic system 400. The system bus 420
is a single bus or any combination of busses according to various
embodiments. The electronic system 400 includes a voltage source
430 that provides power to the integrated circuit 410. In some
embodiments, the voltage source 430 supplies current to the
integrated circuit 610 through the system bus 420.
[0024] The integrated circuit 410 is electrically coupled to the
system bus 420 and includes any circuit, or combination of circuits
according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the integrated
circuit 410 includes a processor 412 that can be of any type. As
used herein, the processor 412 may mean any type of circuit such
as, but not limited to, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a
graphics processor, a digital signal processor, or another
processor. In an embodiment, the processor 412 includes a thermal
controller having a thermal control interface to receive test data
from an automated test equipment (ATE) system and dynamically
adjust a target setpoint temperature based on the data and a
dynamic thermal controller to receive the target setpoint
temperature from the thermal control interface and control a
thermal actuator based on the target setpoint temperature as
disclosed herein.
[0025] In an embodiment, SRAM embodiments are found in memory
caches of the processor. Other types of circuits that can be
included in the integrated circuit 410 are a custom circuit or an
application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), such as a
communications circuit 414 for use in wireless devices such as
cellular telephones, smart phones, pagers, portable computers,
two-way radios, and similar electronic systems, or a communications
circuit for servers. In an embodiment, the integrated circuit 410
includes on-die memory 416 such as static random-access memory
(SRAM). In an embodiment, the integrated circuit 410 includes
embedded on-die memory 416 such as embedded dynamic random-access
memory (eDRAM).
[0026] In an embodiment, the integrated circuit 410 is complemented
with a subsequent integrated circuit 411. Useful embodiments
include a dual processor 413 and a dual communications circuit 415
and dual on-die memory 417 such as SRAM. In an embodiment, the dual
integrated circuit 410 includes embedded on-die memory 417 such as
eDRAM.
[0027] In an embodiment, the electronic system 400 also includes an
external memory 440 that in turn may include one or more memory
elements suitable to the particular application, such as a main
memory 442 in the form of RAM, one or more hard drives 444, and/or
one or more drives that handle removable media 446, such as
diskettes, compact disks (CDs), digital variable disks (DVDs),
flash memory drives, and other removable media known in the art.
The external memory 440 may also be embedded memory 448 such as the
first die in an embedded TSV die stack, according to an
embodiment.
[0028] In an embodiment, the electronic system 400 also includes a
display device 450, an audio output 460. In an embodiment, the
electronic system 400 includes an input device such as a controller
470 that may be a keyboard, mouse, trackball, game controller,
microphone, voice-recognition device, or any other input device
that inputs information into the electronic system 400. In an
embodiment, an input device 470 is a camera. In an embodiment, an
input device 470 is a digital sound recorder. In an embodiment, an
input device 470 is a camera and a digital sound recorder.
[0029] As shown herein, the integrated circuit 410 can be
implemented in a number of different embodiments, including a test
system that includes a thermal controller having a thermal control
interface to receive test data from an automated test equipment
(ATE) system and dynamically adjust a target setpoint temperature
based on the data and a dynamic thermal controller to receive the
target setpoint temperature from the thermal control interface and
control a thermal actuator based on the target setpoint
temperature, and their equivalents, an electronic system, a
computer system, one or more methods of fabricating an integrated
circuit, and one or more methods of fabricating an electronic
assembly that includes a semiconductor die packaged according to
any of the several disclosed embodiments as set forth herein in the
various embodiments and their art-recognized equivalents. The
elements, materials, geometries, dimensions, and sequence of
operations can all be varied to suit particular I/O coupling
requirements including array contact count, array contact
configuration for a microelectronic die embedded in a processor
mounting substrate according to any of the several disclosed
semiconductor die packaged with a thermal interface unit and their
equivalents. A foundation substrate may be included, as represented
by the dashed line of FIG. 4. Passive devices may also be included,
as is also depicted in FIG. 4.
[0030] Although embodiments of the invention have been described in
language specific to structural features and/or methodological
acts, it is to be understood that claimed subject matter may not be
limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the
specific features and acts are disclosed as sample forms of
implementing the claimed subject matter.
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